The Church must be free to make
its voice heard, to proclaim the Gospel and also to raise awareness of
her social doctrine that protects primarily the poorest and weakest.
In
this context, Benedict XVI praised the commitment of the Church of the
Philippines in defence of life from its beginning to natural end and
"appreciates" what it is doing in favour of abolishing the death
penalty.
The Church's commitment in the social sphere, as well as in the
fundamental mission of proclaiming the Gospel, was the focus of the
pope’s address today to the bishops of the Philippines, for their
five-yearly visit "ad Limina".
To be "leaven" of the culture of society, said Benedict XVI,
the Church must always make its voice heard, first of all with the
proclamation of the Gospel. "
This voice expresses itself in the moral
and spiritual witness of the lives of believers. It also expresses
itself in the public witness offered by the Bishops, as the Church’s
primary teachers, and by all who have a role in teaching the faith to
others".
The task of proclaiming the Gospel touches " touches upon
issues relevant to the political sphere. This is not surprising, since
the political community and the Church, while rightly distinct, are
nevertheless both at the service of the integral development of every
human being and of society as a whole. For her part, the Church
contributes most toward the building of a just and charitable social
order".
"At the same time, the Church’s prophetic office demands that
she be free “to preach the faith, to teach her social doctrine ... and
also to pass moral judgments in those matters which regard public order
whenever the fundamental human rights of a person or the salvation of
souls requires it” (ibid.). In the light of this prophetic task, I
commend the Church in the Philippines for seeking to play its part in
support of human life from conception until natural death, and in
defence of the integrity of marriage and the family. In these areas you
are promoting truths about the human person and about society which
arise not only from divine revelation but also from the natural law, an
order which is accessible to human reason and thus provides a basis for
dialogue and deeper discernment on the part of all people of good will. I
also note with appreciation the Church’s work to abolish the death
penalty in your country."
The Pope also highlighted some other aspects of life of the
Church of the Philippines, starting from the commitment to be present in
the field of social communications "a unified and positive voice needs
to be presented to the public in forms of media both old and new, so
that the Gospel message may have an ever more powerful impact on the
people of the nation."
Another aspect of the mission of the Church in the Philippines
highlighted by Benedict XVI is " in her commitment to economic and
social concerns, in particular with respect to the poorest and the
weakest in society. At the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines,
the Church in your nation took a special interest in devoting herself
more fully to care for the poor."
The Pope also pointed to the "just
concern" of the bishops in the" on-going commitment to the struggle
against corruption, since the growth of a just and sustainable economy
will only come about when there is a clear and consistent application of
the rule of law throughout the land. "
SIC: AN/INT'L